1975 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
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The 11th European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held in Bern, Switzerland from 31 May–1 June 1975.[1]
| 11th European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Eisstadion Allmend |
| Location | Bern, Switzerland |
| Start date | 31 May 1975 |
| End date | 1 June 1975 |
Medalists
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-around |  Nikolai Andrianov |
 Eberhard Gienger |
Alexander Dityatin |
| Floor | Nikolai Andrianov Andrzej Szajna |
Not awarded |  Jiří Tabák Andrey Keranov |
| Pommel horse |  Zoltán Magyar |
Nikolai Andrianov |
Eberhard Gienger |
| Rings |  Dan Grecu |
Mihai Borș |
Alexander Dityatin |
| Vault | Nikolai Andrianov |
Andrzej Szajna |
Jiří Tabák |
| Parallel bars | Nikolai Andrianov |
Alexander Dityatin |
Viktor Klimenko |
| Horizontal bar | Nikolai Andrianov Eberhard Gienger |
Not awarded | Andrzej Szajna |
Medal table
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soviet Union (URS) | 5 | 2 | 3 | 10 |
| 2 | Poland (POL) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| West Germany (FRG) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Romania (ROM) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 5 | Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 7 | Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (7 entries) | 9 | 5 | 8 | 22 | |
Defection of Wolfgang Thüne
During the post-competition banquet on Sunday June 1, East German gymnast and 1974 World horizontal bar silver medalist Wolfgang Thüne vanished. On the morning of Monday June 2, Thüne reappeared in Frankfurt am Main, West Germany.[3] For many years it was unclear how Thüne successfully managed to escape to West Germany, with official reports claiming he "hitchhiked". In 1999, 24 years after the defection, it was revealed that West German gymnast Eberhard Gienger, who bested Thüne at the previous year's World Championships and who had also won the horizontal bar gold and all-around silver medals at this competition, was instrumental in aiding Thüne.[4]
Thüne had reached out to Gienger in a bathroom at the Eisstadion Allmend where the competition was taking place, requesting help in defecting; Gienger accepted without hesitation.[5] On the night of the escape, Gienger and Thüne, alongside Gienger's girlfriend, a judge, and a masseur, drove toward the Swiss border city Basel before entering West Germany. At the passport control Gienger showed the border guard four IDs, explaining that the fifth was in a jacket in the trunk and he’d fetch it right away. But the guard waved them through without checking. From there Gienger brought Thüne to fellow West German national team member, Walter Mössinger's house in Freiburg im Breisgau and he immediately returned to the competition banquet in Bern.[3]